Multi-compartment globular structures assembled from polymer-based materials may soon serve as cell prototypes

The cell is a host of many complex reaction pathways. These pathways usually do not interfere with each other because they are contained within membrane-bound compartments, known as organelles. The lipid membrane is extremely selective—only allowing certain signalling molecules to permeate through—and plays an important role in biological processes, such as protein synthesis and the regulation of enzymatic reactions. Madhavan Nallani from the A*STAR Institute of Materials Research and Engineering and co-workers have now synthesized a new type of multi-compartment structure known as a polymersome, which mimics cellular compartmentalization through the use of self-assembling polymers.

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